Teacher's Violent Meltdown Caught on Tape

More and more videos are popping up on YouTube of teachers flipping out in front of their classes, as students grab the incidents on their cell phones.

And one such freak-out in McGavock High School in Nashville Friday was so extreme, officials are saying Brian Wood was actually having a nervous breakdown as he led an 11th grade algebra class, reports CBS News Correspondent Jeff Glor.

At the start, Wood, who's been a teacher for 21 years, is just screaming at the students as they laugh back at him in what Glor says seemed like harmless play, but it evolves, and Wood is seen throwing desks, even smashing a window with one of them.

It got so bad students ran from the classroom, Glor says. McGavock's principal, Robbin Wall, admits it was lucky no one was hurt.

Wood's sister, Leanne Smith, said in a news conference Monday her brother regrets his actions. "He expressed his passion and love for teaching and concern for his students," she said.

Although Smith didn't say exactly what caused his erratic actions, she pointed to the students' disruptive behavior in the video, and hinted disrespect in the classroom is a problem across the country, saying, "The lack of respect for authority in our society's classrooms across the nation is one of the many consequences of the way public school teachers are forced to deal with their classrooms today."

Wood, a father of five, has been placed on administrative leave as he continues treatment at a nearby hospital.

In his report, Glor also showed bits of other videos of teachers losing it, including one actually dragging and hitting a student:

[mothersson2002]

Check out this study showing how treating children well helps them be emphatically towards the feelings of others.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100921163709.htm

[ge556]

Excellent, short, readable, helpful article. Thank you! TruthTeller

[mothersson2002]

To expect children to respect elders just because they are older is I meant "ageism"
Children who are treated well and see others being treated well do likewise, but if they are treated unfairly and verbally and or physically assaulted the cutsey word spanking, they will no not know any other way to treat others.
And no children are not acting worse. Consider Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Sadam, Hilter. They were all hit as children. Violence breeds violence and respect breeds respect.

[mothersson2002]

Thank God that child did have the video camera. Just because teacher abuse is just now being viewed, it doesn't mean it didn't occur before.
Children act disrespectful when they have been treated or seen others be treated disrespectful continuously. Its role-modeling
To expect children to respect elders just because they are older is sexism. I am a mother of one fine college age boy. I have worked in the school as an ed-tech and sub for many years and hate seeing how badly children are treated- as second class citizens- I was a student of the eighties-children in certain levels- were just as disrespectful then cause they were treated disrespectful. The children in higher level classes like college prep classes are mostly always respectful- and why- because they "statistically" speaking are usually treated better.

[mamaw865]

Truthteller it is law. And I agree that the supposed meaning of racism is thinking one race is better than another, but as usual our society has broadened the meaning. Biggot? is that better. Fool perhaps. And it is true in every state in the US and in many foreign countries. And I am right about the president he wanted the black vote so he played his race card. We have become way to tolerant. I do not think that I am better than anyone no matter what color or how rich or poor. But I am very up set in the direction my country I put a uniform on to defend, is headed. I want a tax put on any goods or companies that move operations overseas, a tax so horribly high that it does not benefit American companies to abuse people in other countries. Or abuse my ears for that matter when I make a phone call to get service and the person on other end can't speak English. I am just grouchy. But you are very incorrect anyone born in the United States is listed as the race of the Mother legally. As I said I have adopted my grandchild and we had to do a lot of research into this. Now how do we solve this violence in schools, teachers frustrations, lack of education?

[ge556]

Link, please. Everything I have heard says that the person filling out the form chooses how to fill in the race field, in any form.

[ge556]

And are you talking about the birth certificate, or some other form? Maybe you are thinking about the "race of the mother" item on the birth certificate. That's not the race of the baby, that's the race of the mother.

[writermagnolia]

I have been a Metropolitan Nashville high school teacher for 17 years now and I can attest to the almost inhumane treatment teachers now endure in the classroom. I know in my school students are completely out of control, walking in and out of class when they want, doing what they want, saying what they want. There is something wrong in our society when a student can say to a teacher, "Shut the "F" up! I don't have to listen to your "F"ing "S," or "Why don't you just shut the "F" up; no one's listening to you." A woman on Facebook commented that Mr. Wood's behavior would not be appropriate in the corporate world; I'm sure it wouldn't be but he wouldn't be verbally and/or physically assaulted in that world either, at least not without litigation. I know I'm a little jaded in my thinking; students attacked me nearly seven years ago for trying to break up a fight and sent me to the hospital with a crushed pelvis. I've been saying for five years that public education is dying and this instance is just one more shovel-full of dirt out of the grave. From the teachers to the School Board, everyone has their hands tied by fear of something, be it litigation or reputation, but someone spends too much of their time remembering "See Johnny run." The general public has no conception of what teachers face every single day while someone sits in their comfortable office reading the latest professional journal touting some new educational approach that is going to raise test scores and graduation rates. What they need to be doing is focusing on how to get the slugs out of the classrooms, make some parents take responsibility for their children and grow some backbone when it comes to disciplining students. Yes, there are a few students who want to learn but as was the case just yesterday in one of my classes, 4 out of 34 students were trying to take notes while the rest were laughing, shouting, texting, talking on their cell phones, throwing paper, laughing and being so loud I had to shout in order to be heard and THEN was lambasted by some of them for shouting and again, told to "Shut the "F" up; no one is interested in what you're saying."

I know exactly how Mr. Woods felt; I'm now on two different narcotics to fight severe depression and anxiety. In fact my general practitioner says I have to get out of education. But I'm fighting back, maybe in an unusual but certainly calculated way. I possess a list of names, of students who have made my life a living hell for the past year and eight weeks. My attorney AND doctors have the same list. If I do have a heart attack or stroke while on school property and survive, those students and their parents AND the school will be slapped with a lawsuit so fast their heads will spin.. and I will win since I have physiological proof that my job is directly related to my stress. What everyone needs to be thankful for is that Mr. Woods only turned over a few tables and broke some glass. If something is not done about unruly students, one day an adult is going to really snap and Columbine is going to look like a tea party.

[ploz]

I have been teaching middle school for over 25 years - I have never seen so much disrespect and rudeness from students as I am seeing lately - I feel like I am the one being 'bullied' and abused - I can relate to his reactions, though alittle extreme .... and as teachers, we can do very little, stand there and 'take it' (since we have to be careful about what WE say-, and many times, get very little support - but with these financial times, I need my job ....

[Sorrythishappened]

It would have been nice to have a cell phone when I was in Jr. High in the late 70's. My math teacher was always having temper tantrums. One day I became so frightenend I ran straight to the principals office. This teachers behavior, of course was not typical of my other teachers but if there is an instance of a teacher "loosing" control the administrators of the school need to be made aware of the behavior. I also sat in many "out of control" classrooms in high school (Las Vegas). As for students, education is not looked at as a priveledge in the U.S. and I believe reform begins in the home.

[pak31]

Just as a small example of the decline of respect: When I was growing up as a child in the 70's, we were always taught to be respectful toward adults. We addressed them as Mr. and Mrs. Today so many adults don't want to be called that so they have the kids call them by their first names. I understand where the adults are coming from but they don't understand that by letting a child call you by your first name it puts you at the same level. When a child addresses a person older than them with a title, it puts that person above them. My point is that too many kids are growing up as mini adults, they are doing a lot of things that the adults do and there is no balance between the kids and the adults. In turn, kids expect to be treated the same as adults and when they don't they get upset. It's really not their fault, it's ours as the responsible adults. I personally find it disrespectful when a child calls me by my first name.

[ge556]

Respect has to be a 2-way street. Treating children as inferior breeds resentment and/or inferiority. Yes, it is the adults' job to make certain decisions, but it's wrong to treat children as inferior.

My son started calling my wife and me by our first names before he could pronounce them. Since there was no real reason to disallow that, we allowed it. He's now a fine young man, who gets along with his elders better than most of his peers do.

TruthTeller

[gmohrsfcn]

I feel sorry for the teacher, we have failed as parents in teaching our childred about respect and discipline. When are we going to stop blaming the teachers and put the blame where it really belongs on the parents? I grew up in the 60's and would have never dared to act this way in school, as I knew I would be in trouble with my parents when I got home. Now adays the parents always look to blame the teacher instead of looking at the behavior of their own child. Let's stop being enablers and start practicing respect for the teachers again. I would hate to be a teacher in the kind of environment that they are put in now, it seems the teachers have no rights and the students can do whatever they want, because we want Johnny to succeed and blame the teacher when he fails. Maybe Johnny should be held accountable and to a higher standard so he can flourish and be productive in the real world instead of another statistic that the tax payer will have to support! Lets hold the accountablility where it really belongs "at home" and stop tying these teachers hands and let them have discipline and control back in the classroom again! I spent hours working with my kids buying books and encouraging them as a parent, it was my responsiblity to see that they became decent productive adults I did not expect the teacher to raise my children. I am proud to say that both my children have a master's degre and are contributing in a positive way to society. We did not demand this of them, they learned by the example my husband and I set in our own lives. Parents lets start being a better example for our children.

[Evabraun3408]

I don't think you could have summed things up more adequately. I think my dad would have kicked my butt (with love) if I had acted so disrespectfully. I had a couple of rotton teachers growing up, but I wasn't about to challenge them. When I was 16 I had an awesome history teacher and every morning we broke every rule. All of us would stand on our desk and shout the Pledge of Allegiance. He didn't dissprove but he couldn't give his apporval either. That was about as risky as we got. I had 420 kids in my class. I am a product of the decade of decadance. What is considered the dacade of narcissim. I disagree. I think my friends and I turned out okay. I worry about the future. God help us all.

[RILEX1]

I'm a middle school teacher. This video is out of line. You just don't flip out for any behaviors. Why isn't the video showing any precipitating events that led up to him losing control? Such as student behavior, disrespect, ridicule, etc. You don't blow up like this for a few wise crackers. Again, get the cell phones out of the classroom, how this is edited is proof. I'd say some of those kids that caused this behavior and frustration needed a good grounding, cell phone grounding, or discipline from their "parents". Oh, that would ACTUALLY take parenting.So sorry, this is the US, land of low value on education and responsibility.

[ge556]

The cell phone video doesn't start until the teacher lost it precisely because it is a cell phone video, I would think. Students don't usually record events until they get interesting.

TruthTeller